Instructions

Bring 4 quarts water to a boil in a large pot. Meanwhile, combine garlic, pepper flakes and oil in a small microwave-safe bowl and microwave until garlic is golden and fragrant, about 1 minute.

Pat chicken dry with paper towels and cut into bite-size pieces. Season with salt and pepper. Transfer 1 tablespoon of the garlic/red pepper oil to a large skillet and heat over medium heat until oil is rippling. Add chicken and cook until well browned and cooked through. Transfer to a plate and tent with foil.

Add 1 tablespoon salt and the pasta to boiling water and cook until tender but still slightly firm (al dente). Reserve 1/2 cup cooking water. Drain pasta and return to the pot. Stir in chicken, spinach, basil, lemon juice, Parmesan, and remaining garlic mixture, adding reserved pasta water as needed. Season with salt and pepper. Serve immediately.

Follow @melskitchencafe on Instagram and show me the recipes you are making from my blog using the hashtag #melskitchencafe. I love seeing all the goodness you are whipping up in your kitchens!

I know this is an older recipe, but just wanted to say that my family has been loving it for years! I’ve subbed in cooked mushrooms, broccoli, zucchini, or any combo of these, and it always comes out great.

Made this dish tonight then came across this recipe site/blog. My granddaughter just recently was diagnosed as being allergic to a protein found in milk so I had to “doctor” up the recipe to suit her new diet restrictions.
First I made a bechamel sauce with dairy free butter and unsweetened soy milk. Added minced garlic to the sauce and simmered until it just started to thicken. Added my 2 leftover chicken breasts (diced), my pasta (penne) and enough chicken stock to cover the pasta. When the pasta was tender and the sauce had thickened to where I wanted it I added my spinach. Was delicious the new way I prepared it (no leftovers!)
Just posting to let others know that most recipes can be adapted to a milk free way of living and still taste great. Looking for more of your recipes I can “doctor” up

This is one of my family’s favorite meals. My husband says it tastes like it came from a restaurant, and my three boys all love it, too. My favorite way to make it is to grill extra of your delicious Island Chicken on the weekend, and use a couple of the chicken breasts in this recipe!

Oh my gosh! This was awesome! I had a rotisserie chicken so I used it instead of cooking raw breasts. I shredded it and sautéed it in 2 tbsps of the oil mixture to heat it back up. I then added the spinach to the chicken and covered it to wilt while I boiled the pasta. Once the pasta was done I added the chicken/spinach mixture and the rest of the ingredients – DELICIOUS!! I will definitely make this again and again. So easy with the rotisserie chicken. Thank you!

Oh this is good!!!! My four year old stopped eating it to announce, “I love this dinner!” That’s the best compliment ever in my book:) seriously Mel, thank you for what you do!!! These recipes have become part of our little family. Thanks for your help in my raising my kids as well as possible:)

OH man this is good! I got so much spinach with my bountiful baskets and I’m a bit tired of eating so much salad. I was looking for a pasta recipe that had spinach AND with ingredients that I already had in my kitchen and this was perfect! Scott is such a picky eater lately and won’t eat anything flavored, and he actually really loved this dish. Thanks a bunch 🙂

Absolutely delicious! Pasta isn’t usually my thing, but this dish is a 10+! I’ve just spent the last hour perusing your site and have bookmarked so many things to try that I know are going to be bit hits in my household. Thank you so much!

Hi Lorie – I just stir in the fresh spinach at the end and it wilts slightly from the heat of the pasta but still is a bit tender. If you want it more cooked, you could definitely add it with the pasta for the last 30 seconds to minute of cooking.

So I tried this tonight. I love it. I added a tad of whipping cream and flour to thicken the sauce a little…(the true story is: I dropped a lot of the water from the pasta on the floor which could have ended really bad since I was barefoot.) Anyway, I did this and the garlic knots and I am keeping it and passing it on. Thanks

This is on the menu for tonight, and I think it would be awesome with shrimp, I wish Megan would have come back and said how it turned out, HAHA!! I love shrimp!! Okay, this tonight (with shrimp) and the roasted chicken tomorrow 🙂 🙂 I’ll letcha know how it turns out!!!

~Thanks as always. Man I love your blog. Takes the ‘planning’ out of meal time really and that is the part that I hated, I never realized til I found your blog that I actually don’t mind COOKING, just hate the PLANNING!!! 🙂

Wow! I’m so glad I found this recipe.. I happened to have all the ingredients and made it as stated.. and it was yummy!! Added some feta cheese crumbled on top when serving, and that was really good.. My boyfriend said it’s his new favorite recipe that I cook.. thank you!

I made this the other night. Through a series of unfortunate events, my husband ended up coming home quite late, so the pasta had a chance to get pretty cool. We went ahead and ate it as it was, and really enjoyed it cold. Kind of reminded us of a fancy pasta salad.

Beckie – would it help if I told you the lemon isn’t an overwhelming flavor? If you don’t like lemon, I’m sure it wouldn’t hurt to leave it out, but you might try substituting the same amount of chicken broth or other liquid. Good luck!

I made this Sat and liked it. I should have done the pene a little longer-it was chewy. I used a box of frozen spinach (10 oz)thawed for the spinach. DH doesn’t like spinach but he ate it and liked it! The leftovers today were even better. I thought the garlic knots were a little strange-the garlic on them tasted a little raw. I rebaked them for 5 min and they were much better. They were even better today too.

Thank you thank you thank you! I just made this for a dinner I am taking tonight. I know it says to serve warm, but I’m hoping it taste as good served cold. I tried it and had to walk away from the kitchen or I might have eaten the entire bowl. It makes tons, and the flavor is perfect. Off to look for your bread recipe.

Margaret – glad you liked the pasta recipe. On the garlic knots – I usually just use the butter the garlic has been sitting in to brush over the rolls and I avoid the bigger chunks of raw garlic – that way you just get the garlic butter flavor.

Seriously – good luck with having your fourth boy! I hope by now you’ve gone into labor and aren’t overdue. Thanks for your comment. I love hearing from moms that have all boys – it gives me hope that I can survive, too!

I don’t remember how I happened on your blog…but I was just skimming some recipes and saw that you had your 4th boy. I’m due with my 4th boy today….so I just wanted to say HI and see how things were going for you 🙂 Hope you’re surviving. The fact that you have time to cook and post anything at all is giving me hope 🙂

Thank you for posting! I just made this tonight and it’s SO wonderful! I love pasta but often feel as though it’s so heavy, but this dish is light and really delicious!!! If you haven’t tried this yet, I highly recommend!!